TheNextReport

          Now, where the hell did I put that damn recipe?

Keeping the pieces orderly on the Trumped chessboard can be confusing, but also lends itself to odd insights. Okay, lets get this straight: Michael Flynn is the name of a former Army General who was appointed by President Donald Trump for the role of National Security Advisor. He was forced to resign by Emperor Trump after it was revealed that he had engaged in private conversations in December 2016 with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak. It is thought that among the topics they discussed was a deal that would ease sanctions put in place to punish Russia for hacking into computers during the campaign for the American presidency. A "Mickey Finn" is supposedly named after a piece of 19th century lore from the city of Chicago. Finn was the keeper of Chicago's Lone Star Saloon. It was alleged that he had a nasty habit of drugging selected customers then robbing them. Such was the power of Finn's concoction that the unwitting victim would awake the next morning complet...

Andy Puzder, the nominee for the Trump cabinet post of Labor Secretary, has withdrawn his name from consideration after it was revealed that Puzder -- the billionaire CEO of an empire of fast-food restaurants -- had been accused of spousal abuse by his ex-wife and had once employed a non-documented immigrant as a domestic worker. Domestic baggage is not new to the Trump administration, and is a powerful instrument with which to gauge a politician's level of hypocrisy. It has been the obvious practice of the Trump regime to demonstrate its disdain for contrasting points of view by deliberately appointing to cabinet positions people whose opinions have been diametrically opposed to the agencies to which they have been nominated. In some cases the contrasts have been stark, as though Lewis Carrol had the blueprints. Lets take environmental policy. During his tenure as Attorney General in Oklahoma, Scott Pruitt brought 19 lawsuits against the EPA to kill a host of environmental reg...

Why did the Republican Party insist on backing Donald Trump's choice for Education Secretary even though she has been proven to be entirely unqualified for the position?  In hearings before the education committee, nominee Betsy DeVos showed that her grade for understanding and supporting public education would be zero. As the wife of Amway billionaire Rich (yes, that is his name) DeVos, Betsy D. has never been a public school student or teacher, has never developed curricula, has never been a school superintendent or administrator and she has never been elected to public office. Her unequivocal advocacy of school voucher programs would translate in damage to public education by re-routing available federal education funds to parents who could then choose what they do with the money. As the results of the 2016 election demonstrated, entrusting parents with the responsibility of making sure their children are properly educated would be a big mistake. Rather than looking at test...